Pray for abuse victims
Bishop responds to Royal Commission statistics
THE Bishop of Sale Pat
O’Regan has responded to
figures released last week about
the Diocese of Sale by the Royal
Commission into Institutional
Responses to Child Abuse.
He said that at this particular
time, his first thoughts and
prayers were with the many
victim survivors of sexual
abuse perpetrated by members
of the Catholic clergy.
He had no doubt that the
next few weeks would be a
time of distress for them in the
recollection of their stories and
the memories that would be
invoked.
“We can only pray that this
public drawing together of the
tragic and disgraceful history
of abuse in the Church assists
in a tangible way to lead the
survivors to some sense of
peace and healing.”
Bishop O’Regan said the
Diocese of Sale, like every
other Diocese in Australia,
had its share of perpetrators of
sexual abuse.
“Nothing that we say about
statistics can diminish the
suffering of even one person. We
cannot pretend that the vagaries
of statistical analysis somehow
makes us less culpable for the
harm that has been done.”
To suggest, as some media
outlets had done, that the
Diocese of Sale was the
epicentre of the abuse crisis was
to simplify a very complex and
tragic piece of our collective
history.
He said that what was needed
was to take a whole and
collective responsibility for the
abuse that had occurred and to
take a whole and collective part
in the redress of the issue.
Bishop O’Regan said the
statistics quoted in the Royal
Commission data needed further
analysis and explanation.
To have a single priest abuser
was one too many and to have a
single claim against a Diocese
was also one too many.
He said the Diocese of Sale
did not have 15.1 percent of the

Trinity
FAMILIES

4500 claims made in Australia
over the past 35 years as some
may have read into the figures.
The report brought adverse
attention on the Diocese of Sale
which actually had a total of 20
claims.
Given the 1880 perpetrators,
of which 384 were Diocesan
priests, the total number of our
priests alleged to have been
perpetrators, using the 15.1
percent figure, would be 12
which was consistent with data
held by the Diocese.

On these figures the 12 from
Sale represented 3.1 percent of
the total alleged perpetrators
Australia-wide.
All alleged diocese priest
perpetrators
were
now
deceased.
Bishop O’Regan said the
Diocese of Sale had, over
recent years, been working
with victims, their advocates
and legal advisors to reach
both pastoral and financial
agreements.
This has occurred through

the work of the current and
previous Bishops and Vicars
General. The Diocese would
continue to work pastorally in
this way.
He said that from the
perspective of prevention, a
Professional Standards Officer
had been appointed to work
across parishes and schools to
ensure that all proper processes
for the protection of children
and vulnerable adults were in
place and actively promoted,
resourced and monitored.

In the days before the Royal
Commission report, Bishop
O’Regan sent a letter to all
parishes to distribute among
parishioners, which warned
that the final three weeks of
hearings involving the Catholic
Church could be a difficult and
distressing time.
He again offered his apology
on behalf of the Catholic
Church for the damage which
had been done to the lives of
victims of sexual abuse.

Celebrating Filipino saint’s day in Sale

SOME of the dancers in their colorful costumes take time out for lunch before performing at the Santo Nino celebrations in Sale.
SALE - Members of the Filipino
community from across Sale
Diocese gathered in Sale for the
annual celebration of the Feast
of Santo Nino (of Feast of the

people gathered in the Sale
Botanic Gardens for the feast
and an afternoon of dancing
and song.
The popular Filipino choir

Bayanihan Circle performed
and there were many impromptu
performances as the day went
on.

Think of all the families you can help

You can assist families in the Greater Gippsland region for years to
come by supporting Trinity Families. We direct funds to
programs where there is the greatest need. Please give generously.
To donate visit www.trinityfamilies.org.au or phone (03) 5622 6688 for a credit card deduction form.

Page 2 - Catholic Life, February 2017

Our diocese is 130 not out!
IN his 1845 work, An Essay on
the Development of Christian
Doctrine, the Blessed John
Henry Cardinal Newman
(1801-1890)
wrote
the
following, “In a higher world
it is otherwise, but here below
to live is to change, and to
be perfect is to have changed
often. (Chapter 1, Section 1,
Part 7).
As human beings we struggle
all our lives with those words.
On the one hand we like
stability and predictability
on the other we know, in the
depths of our hearts, that the
only reality that does not
change is God.
This year our Diocese of
Sale turns 130. It was erected
by the Holy See on Monday
May 10, 1887.
In 1950 the number of
Catholics in the Diocese was
15,000 with one priest for
every 535 Catholics. There
were 15 Parishes at that time.
In 2014 the number of
Catholics in the Diocese
was 122,000 and one priest
for every 3128 Catholics.
Currently we have 27 Parishes.

To live is to change indeed.
While 130 is not an arresting
number of years, it does give
us pause to stop and give
thanks for the work of God
which has been constantly at
work amongst us since that
Monday 130 years ago.
As many generations have
done before us we seek to
respond to the challenges that
are before our generation, they
are many, and to constantly
recall that God’s goodness is
consistent, if at times difficult
to discern.
This year the May 10 is a
Wednesday. On that day I shall
be attending the May Plenary
meeting of the Australian
Bishops and will offer Mass
that day especially for the
Diocese.
I would encourage each
parish to organise something to
commemorate this foundation
day, especially in prayer.
We give thanks for what has
been; we rejoice in what is
and we look with hope to that
which will be, for God is Good
indeed.

Year of Youth
THIS year has not been
designated as any year in
particular. Thanks be to God
do I hear you say?
It is good not to have a
thematic year where we can
are able to consolidate the
learnings of all the previous
years.
The recent Year of Mercy
offered up so many profound
insights that it will take more
than a year to reflect on them
all, and allow them to shape
our hearts.
2018, however, has been
designated by the Australian
Bishops as the Year of Youth.
The Year of Youth reminds
us that young people must be
at the centre of any renewal
strategy for the Church.
We must work in partnership
with young people’s passion
and energy to assist us to
become more fully alive as the
Body of Christ, in this part of
God’s vineyard.
In our preparation for and
participation in the Year
of Youth, the Australian
Bishops have committed to the

Annual Serra golf day soon
SALE – The annual Serra Club
golf day will be held at Sale
Golf Club on April 10 this year.
The golf day helps to promote
religious vocations and is
always held the day before
the Mass of Oils at St Mary’s
Cathedral.
Originally the event was
priests versus Serra Club
members and then this has
been widened in recent years
to include any parishioners
who want to take part, and
even clergy from other
denominations.
The Bishop Jeremiah Coffey
Perpetual Shield is hotly
contested between Catholic
clergy and non-Catholic clergy.

The Fr Frank Carroll Shield is
contested between the Serrans
and Catholic religious and then
there is the Neville McLeod
Plaque for the best score of the
day.
Golfers compete in a
stableford match while the
non-golfer of any standard use
a Calloway system of scoring.
Various trophies are awarded
in individual sections for
Serrans, Friends of Serra,
Ladies, Catholic Religious and
Other Religious.
Coffee
and
sandwiches
are served at the Longford
clubhouse from 11.30am and
then there is a shotgun start at
12.15pm.

Catholic Life
PO Box 1410,
Warragul Vic. 3820
Phone: (03) 5622 6688

catholiclife@sale.catholic.org.au
www.sale.catholic.org.au

In recognising that some
may not be available in the
afternoon, arrangements can be
made with the organisers for an
early start at 8am.
The cost of the golf is $15 but
is free for religious.
The presentation dinner will
again be held at the Lakeside
Club, Foster St., Sale, at 6.30pm
for 7pm. Cost of attending this
is $30 (again free for religious).
To indicate your attendance
at the golf day and/or dinner
call Reg Carmody 5144 3349
or 0427 443 349 or Alan Wyatt
5143 0454 or 0409 449 104 no
later than March 31.

Latrobe
alley
V
uneral
F
Services

Do not forget Syria!

Editor: Colin Coomber
Published 6 times a year
Deadline for advertising copy and
editorial contributions for our next
issue is Easter Monday, April 17.
Issues distributed free through
parishes and schools from
April 26.
Published by
Catholic Media Gippsland,
an agency of the Diocese of Sale.
Printed by Express Print, Morwell.
Member of Australasian
Catholic Press Association

❏ Secure, guaranteed, pre-paid
and pre-arranged funeral
plans
❏ Over 70 years of service
to the Latrobe Valley

MOE 5126 1111

Proud member of the
Australian Funeral Directors
Association and the Australian and
British Institutes of Embalming

AT the recent Santo Niño Mass
in the Cathedral in January
a visitor came up to me and
simply said “Don’t forget
Syria Bishop”. I knew exactly
what she was talking about.
With all the hyper-ventilating
about recent changes in
leadership around the world, it

following priorities:• Prayer - calling upon
the Holy Spirit to open new
horizons for spreading joy for
young people and our faith
communities;
• Being present to young
people in a variety of contexts
to listen, pray and work
together to address youth
injustices;
• Nurture the spiritual,
emotional
and
physical
wellbeing of young people;
• Accompany young people
as they discern their vocation
and place in the world.
• Call upon the gifts of all
generations of the Catholic
faith community so that young
and old may be inspired and
fulfil God’s potential on this
journey together.
The Australian Bishops have
entrusted Year of Youth in 2018
to the guidance of the Holy
Spirit of this great Southland,
and draw inspiration from St
Mary of the Cross MacKillop
and her example.
The Year of Youth will be
inaugurated by the Australian
Catholic Youth Festival in
Sydney from December 7-9
this year.
The theme of the Youth
Festival is “Open new horizons
for spreading joy. Young
people, faith and vocational
discernment.”
May each parish and
Catholic School in the Diocese
prepare to send young people
to Sydney for this event. It is
now just under 300 days until
this event. Let’s get cracking.
More more thing…

is easy to forget the plight of
Syria. It so easily slips off our
news bulletins and from our
thoughts.
Syria is not a thing but rather
a country where our fellow
Catholic sisters and brothers
are daily being killed and
driven from their country.
I know of one bishop whose
Diocese has all but been
destroyed. He has said that
while they have destroyed our
houses that can never destroy
our faith. I wonder if we too
would say the same thing if we
faced such a plight.
Situations such as these are
by their nature, complicated.
I have spoken with many in
the Diocese that would wish
to assist and are assisting in
resettling some of the Syrian
refugees here in Australia;
some are frustrated that we are
unable to do more. What we
can do, however, is not forget
Syria in our prayer.
I would ask that each parish
include in the Prayer of the
Faithful a petition for the
people, especially our sister
and brother Catholics of Syria.
Indeed, Let us not forget Syria.
St Ephraim the Syrian, a
Doctor of the Church, and
prolific hymn writer (ca 306373) once prayed:Almighty God and Creator,
You are the Father of all people
on earth. I beseech You to
guide all the nations and their
leaders in the ways of justice
and peace. Protect us from the
evils of injustice, prejudice,
exploitation, conflict and war.
Help us to put away mistrust,
bitterness and hatred. Teach us
to cease the storing and using
of implements of war. Lead
us to find peace, respect and
freedom. Unite us in the making
and sharing of tools of peace
against ignorance, poverty,
disease and oppression. Grant
that we may grow in harmony
and friendship as brothers and
sisters created in Your image,
to Your honour and praise.
Amen.
God is Good!
+Bishop Pat O’Regan
Bishop of Sale

MARK
RIDDLE
Consultant
2002900

WANTED

To advertise in Catholic Life
Spaces available from as little as
$50 a month

Phone 5622 6600

Catholic Life, February 2017 - Page 3

Cowes Catholic primary school is announced
COWES – The Sale Diocese’s
newest primary school will
be built this year at Cowes in
readiness for an anticipated 60
students at the start of 2018.
The school will be the 36th in
the diocese and the first on the
island.
Cost will be more than $5
million with $1.8 million
being drawn from the State

Government capital grants
program, $1 million from the
Catholic Education Office
Sale’s supplementary capital
fund and the school’s own
establishment loan of $500,000.
The new school will be
named Our Lady Star of the Sea
Primary and will be constructed
on land owned by the parish
behind the Cowes church. The

parish owns 5.3 hectares.
Entry to the school will be off
the Cowes-Rhyll Rd. opposite
Redwood Drive.
It is envisaged that the first
stage will consist of a two storey
building with four classrooms,
a staffroom and administration
area.
Eventually the school will
cater for around 180 students.

The second stage is planned
to be four additional classrooms
and the third stage a multipurpose stadium/hall.
Director
of
Catholic
Education Maria Kirkwood said
there had been a strong need for
a Catholic primary school on
Phillip Island and the CEOSale
has been looking at the Cowes
proposal for several years.
“The demand by parents
wanting a Catholic education
for their children on Phillip
Island and in the Sale Diocese
generally has been strong for
a number of years, and that
demand is growing.
Parents understood that
Catholic schools provided a
well-rounded education for
students in a caring and pastoral
environment.

It was a great outcome for
the people of Phillip Island and
South Gippsland.
Mrs
Kirkwood
thanked
Bishop O’Regan for his support
and said parish priest Fr
Malcolm Hewitt had done an
extraordinary amount of work
to move the project along.
He and his parish committee
deserved much credit for their
visionary determination.
She said Our Lady Star of
the Sea would be the third new
Catholic primary school to
open in the diocese in the past
six years.
Enrolment enquiries for
students from Foundation
(prep) to Grade 6 should be
directed to Teresa Brady on
5622 6627.

ADVERTISEMENT

AN artist’s impression from the new school’s concept plans.

Smooth start to school year
THE school year has begun
smoothly across the diocese
at the 35 primary schools and
seven secondary colleges.
New principals or acting
principals have been appointed
at several schools.
Acting principal of St Peter’s
College, Cranbourne, is Chris
Black who was previously
deputy principal.
He will be acting for the first
two terms while a replacement
is sought.
Former principal Tim Hogan
is now principal at St John’s
College, Dandenong.
Michelle
Charlton
has
continued on as acting principal
at St Joseph’s, Korumburra,
following the resignation of
former principal Greg Synan.
Jason Slattery is new principal
of St Mary’s Primary School,
Maffra.

He was principal at St
Thomas’ Primary School, Sale
for eight years and St Mary’s
Primary School, Yarram for
four years.
He was also acting principal
at St Michael’s, Heyfield, for
part of last year.
Anita Little will continue in
her current capacity as acting
principal at St Thomas’ until
the end of Term 2.
She was previously principal
at both Heyfield and Maffra.
The St Thomas’ position had
been advertised.
New principal at St Michael’s,
Heyfield, is Jenny Miller who
was teaching at St Patrick’s,
Stratford and had previously
been an acting principal
and also deputy principal at
Heyfield for five years.
Patricia Mulqueen, is new
principal at St Joseph’s,

Trafalgar, after being acting
principal at the end of last year.
She replaced Lydia Goodwin
who has retired following a long
career in Catholic Education
in the diocese, having been
deputy at St Kieran’s, Moe
and principal at Sacred Heart,
Morwell.
David Cooper, who was
acting principal at Lumen
Christi Primary, Churchill, for
the second half of last year has
had his appointment extended
for another two years.
St Ita’s, Drouin principal
Andrew Osler was last week
appointed acting principal
at St Mary’s, Newborough,
after principal Rod Hayes was
unable to assume the role.
St Ita’s deputy Robyn Lewry
has been appointed acting
principal there.

Two priests on lighter duties
TWO diocesan priests have
taken on lighter duties in the
past couple of weeks after
stepping down from their most
recent pastoral roles.
They are chancellor Fr
Brian O’Connor and former
Pakenham parish priest Fr
Bernie Mahony.
The word retirement is no
longer used as ordination is
life-long and so priests move
into lighter duties which
usually involves assisting with

weekend Masses.
Fr
Mahony
celebrated
the 50th anniversary of his
ordination in December.
He was born in Maffra and
his seminary training was at
Corpus Christi, Werribee, and
Propaganda Fide, Rome, before
being ordained at St Mary’s
Cathedral, Sale, by Bishop
Lyons in December 1966.
He served in various parishes
across the diocese and spent
three years as full-time

diocesan director of the Renew
program instituted by Bishop
Eric D’Arcy.
Fr Mahony also served terms
on the Council of Priests and
College of Consultors.
Fr O’Connor was born in
Sydney and was a late vocations
priest, after working for many
years in his own dressmaking
and tailoring business, and also
at a department store in Sydney.
He attended St Paul’s
National Seminary in Sydney
and was ordained at age 46 at
St Mary’s Cathedral, Sale, by
Bishop Eric D’Arcy.
His first appointment was as
bishop’s secretary and master
of ceremonies.
He later served in Warragul,
Bairnsdale, Sale, Omeo and
Heyfield
parishes
before
moving to Sale to take on the
duties of diocesan archivist.
He was appointed chancellor
by Bishop Jeremiah Coffey
in 2000 and after the move
of the diocesan headquarters
to Warragul four years ago,
developed a historical display
in the front of the bishop’s
house in Sale.

INTERESTING situation we
came across at a Gippsland
service station recently where
the attendant rushed out to
advise us that if we were
paying cash, we couldn’t fill
up.
Apparently in the evenings
the station only accepts
payment by card so there is no
cash in the till in the case of a
robbery.
We have never heard of it
before and although we are
heading down the track of
being a cashless society, it is
probably illegal for a business
to refuse to accept cash.
Of course, a business
can always refuse to serve
you (unless it is done
discriminately) and that would
open a whole new can of
worms.

Wash away sins

SEEN in a shop window in Sale
– a bar of soap labelled Jesus
Soap with the sub heading
“Wash Your Sins Away.”
We were stunned to see it and
we wonder if they would have
been game to sell bars labelled
Buddha Soap or Mohammed
Soap.
Same shop was selling
plastic Jesus figurines to place
on a car dashboard. It looks as
if they were meant to wobble
as you drive along like the hula
girls which were popular many

Several priest appointments
years back.

Daylight mystery

SEVERAL years ago we
enjoyed the benefits of late
setting sun in Europe over
their summer.
Village squares came alive
with people out having a few
drinks, dining or just taking a
stroll.
Daylight saving gives us
some of the benefits here in
Victoria but we can’t figure
out why Queensland doesn’t
have it.
On the Gold Coast last
month we noted the sun rose
about 5am when it was of
little benefit to most and was
dipping over the horizon again
at 6.30pm.
With short twilight in that
latitude it meant it was dark
by 7pm. People couldn’t really
go on picnics and a dip at the
beach after work because there
was not enough light.
And don’t give me any of
that drivel about the extra hour
of daylight fading the curtains
faster, or upsetting the habits
of laying hens and milking
cows.

THERE have been several
priest movements since the last
issue of Catholic Life with most
taking place on January 25.
Fr Bernard Buckley, formerly
Traralgon parish priest, is now
parish priest at Pakenham,
replacing Fr Bernie Mahony
who is on lighter duties.
Fr Francis Otobo has moved
from Morwell to be parish
priest of both Traralgon and
Yarram parishes.
Fr Siju Xavier has taken over

at Morwell and Churchill in
his first appointment as parish
priest.
Fr Joseph Abutu, who was
administrator at Cranbourne,
has now been made parish
priest.
In other moves, Dr Dariusz
Jablonski is now associate
pastor at Bairnsdale-Omeo,
and Fr Antony Rebelo IVD is
associate at Cranbourne.
Three new priests have moved
into the diocese and have taken

up associate appointments.
Fr Saji Valiyaveetil, who is
newly arrived from India, is
at Traralgon and Yarram after
spending a month at St Mary’s
Cathedral, Sale, over the
Christmas period
Newly arrived Nigerians Fr
Edwin Ogbuka has been placed
at Morwell and Churchill and
Fr Solomon Okeh is at the
cathedral parish.

Maffra presbytery centenary
MAFFRA – The centenary
of the historic two-storey
presbytery at St Mary’s, Maffra
will be celebrated this Sunday.
The activities will begin at
8.30am with St Mary’s School
leaders ringing the church bell.
At 8.40 the children will lead
a rosary of thanksgiving in the
church and this will be followed
by a slideshow and then Mass
beginning at 9am.
After Mass there is a tour
organised to visit the graves
at Maffra and Sale cemeteries
of priests who have served at
Maffra.
Everyone will then meet back
at the grave of Mons. Callanan
in the grounds of St Mary’s
Church for a short prayer of
thanksgiving.

Of all the decisions we
make in our lifetime,
making a valid will is
among the most
important.

This final testament speaks loudly
of the values, causes and possessions
we hold most dear. We bequest personal
treasures and mementos to special
friends and loved ones and ask them to
care for them after our passing.
If you hold the Church dear, you may
consider leaving a percentage of your
estate or a specific amount to the
Diocese of Sale.
The Diocese is grateful for the support
of its benefactors, who have enabled the
Church to grow in its service of
its people, and invite you
to share in this
rich heritage.

The school bells will
again be rung by the school
leaders to signify the start of a
barbecue lunch which be held
in the grounds surrounding the
presbytery.
There will be a sharing
of stories, a blessing of
renovations, display in the
presbytery and olden-day
games for the children.
The parish is supplying the
sausages, bread and sauce
for the barbecue, as well as
some vegetable burgers for
vegetarians.

Families are invited to bring
a salad or dessert to share. Tea,
coffee and cordial will also be
provided.
Anyone who needs a ride
in order to attend is asked to
call the parish office on 5147
1921. More information is also
available from the parish office
or pastoral council members
Roy
Shelton,
Veronica
Dwyer, Michael Dillon, Kevin
Christiansen, Terry Donahoe,
Pauline Hall, Jason Slattery,
Christa Dwyer or Fr Darren
Howie.

New Townsville
bishop announced
FR Timothy Harris, a priest of
the Archdiocese of Brisbane,
has been appointed the sixth
Bishop of Townsville.
Bishop-Elect
Harris
is
currently parish priest of
Surfers Paradise.
He said, “I’m very conscious
that the Diocese of Townsville
has been without a bishop for
three years. It has been on all of
our minds.
“If the bishop is a sign of
unity, which he is, I hope that I
can strengthen the unity of the
vast Diocese of Townsville and
build on the work of Bishop
Michael Putney and, since
his death, on the efforts of
diocesan administrator Fr Mick
Lowcock.
“I’ve been a pastor all my life
so I would like to understand
the diocese through the eyes of
the local people. I’d like to build
on the good things going on in
the diocese already. As the new
bishop, I will need to listen to
the local experience and learn
from the people.”
President of the Australian
Catholic Bishops’ Conference
Archbishop
Denis
Hart
welcomed the announcement

and said Bishop-elect Harris
was a fine priest and had been
a wonderful pastor in a large
parish.
“I rejoice with the people of
Townsville as they prepare to
welcome their new shepherd
who will serve with renowned
generosity.”
Born in Brisbane in 1962,
Bishop-elect Harris received
his primary education at
Nundah Convent and Virginia
State School and secondary
education at St Joseph’s Nudgee
College. Joining the Bank of
New South Wales, he worked in
public relations for five years.
In 1991, Bishop-elect Harris
graduated with a Bachelor
of Theology. After priestly
formation at Pius XII Provincial
Seminary in Banyo, Brisbane,
he was ordained a Priest in
November 1992.
The office of Bishop has
been vacant in the Diocese
of Townsville since the death
of Bishop Michael Putney
in March 2014. The date of
Bishop-Elect Harris’ Episcopal
Ordination will be announced
soon.

Catholic Life, February 2017 - Page 5

Invitation to prepare for Year of Youth celebration
THE Catholic Bishops of
Australia invite Catholics
across the country to join in
celebrating a Year of Youth
from the beginning of Advent
2017 to the end of 2018.
The Year of Youth celebrates

10 years since World Youth
Day was hosted in Sydney
during 2008.
It will focus on the theme,
‘Open New Horizons for
Spreading
Joy:
Young
People, Faith and Vocational

Catholic Super wins
best fund manager
CATHOLIC Super’s MyLife
MyPension has been named
Best Pension Fund Manager at
Money Magazine Best of the
Best Awards 2017.
MyLife MyPension was
compared with over 175 other
pension funds and has been
ranked the best.
MyLife MyPension’s strong
investment results and low fees
have resulted in their Balanced
Option returning 7.1 percent
over a 10 year period, well
above the industry average of
5.7 percent.
Frank Pegan, Catholic Super
chief executive officer, said he
was thrilled that the organisation
had been recognised with the
Best Pension Fund award.
“MyLife
MyPension’s
success is more than its
consistent and exceptional
investment
performance.
It’s also due to the care and
personal attention our members
receive from a service team

that is supported by skilled
advisers and super specialists,
all of whom work together to
give our members financial
peace of mind throughout their
retirement.”
This award builds on the
industry recognition Catholic
Super has received over 45
years with a philosophy built on
humility and compassion.
As a quiet but consistent
achiever, Catholic Super focuses
on returns for its members,
low fees, flexible products and
personalised service.
The 16th annual Money
Magazine Best of the Best
Awards was held in November
and hosted by Money Magazine
editor Effie Zahos and chairman
and chief commentator Paul
Clitheroe.
Catholic Super’s Balanced
Option investment has also been
ranked equal top performer
for the calendar year 2016 in
SuperRatings survey of the top
50 funds in the country.

Discernment’. The emphasis
is on local discussion and
dialogue in parishes, schools,
youth groups and dioceses.
Delivering the invitation,
Archbishop
Denis
Hart,
President of the Australian
Catholic Bishops Conference
said, ‘In 2018, we want to
engage with youth in new ways
and they with us, helping young
people to encounter God in
Jesus Christ and his Church.
Open your hearts to the life God
intends for you and so make a
real difference in the world’.
On behalf of the Australian
Catholic Bishops Conference,
Archbishop Hart said, ‘As
Bishops we invite you, the
youth of Australia, to open your
hearts to Christ. You are deeply
loved by Jesus and the Church.
We appreciate your gifts and

contributions, and we want to
journey with you.
Young people have a great
capacity to address injustice
and create new opportunities
for joy and hope. Today, many
young people want to serve,
and others are willing to take
a chance to make the world a
better place. Leaders and older
members of the Church must
continue to listen to and benefit
from the many graces of youth,
supporting them to discern
their vocation and identify
their call in the world, within
communities where they are
safe, nurtured and respected,’
Archbishop Hart added.
The Year of Youth will be
part of a journey of dialogue
and discernment as the Church
in Australia contributes to the
next Synod of Bishops in Rome

during 2018 with its focus
on ‘Young People, Faith and
Vocational Discernment’ and as
preparations commence to host
a Plenary Council in Australia
during 2020.
Twelve months out from the
Year of Youth, Archbishop
Anthony Fisher OP, Australian
Catholic Bishops Delegate
for Youth said, ‘To launch the
Year of Youth, I invite young
people across the country to
the Australian Catholic Youth
Festival, December 7-9, 2017 in
Sydney. The Festival will bring
your peers and Church leaders
together to celebrate the young
Church of Australia.’
Information about the Year
of Youth is available on the
official website, www.youth.
catholic.org.au

we are ‘the best of the best’
because we genuinely care
At Catholic Super’s MyLife MyPension,
we take the time to help you achieve the
retirement lifestyle you desire.
If you’re nearing retirement, contact us
to discuss your needs and experience
our award-winning service.

contact us now | 1300 963 720 | mylifemypension.com.au
Issued by CSF Pty Limited (ABN 30 006 169 286; AFSL 246664), the Trustee of the MyLifeMyMoney Superannuation Fund (ABN 50 237 896 957; SPIN CSF0100AU). The information contained herein is
general information only. It has been prepared without taking into account your personal investment objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is not intended to be, and should not be, construed in any way as
investment, legal or financial advice. Please consider your personal position, objectives, and requirements before taking any action.
MPE060 180117

A growing
number of
newspapers
printed
THANK you to all the schools
who responded to our call
for an update in the number
of newspaper required to be
delivered each month.
It is amazing how schools in
the western end of the diocese
continue to grow year by year.
We now print and deliver
more than 16,000 papers every
issue.
Parishes should also take note
of the number of newspapers
they receive and can adjust
numbers according to need.
We prefer that there are still
a few papers at the back of
the church for the first month
after publication to cater for
those who have been away on
holidays, or who are infrequent
Mass attenders.
The number of papers ordered
should be in multiples of 25 as
bundle sizes are 25, 50, 75 and
100.
To reduce the number of
deliver points, and hence costs,
we will continue to deliver to
only one address where the
parish office and school are
beside one another.
If there is any need to change
where papers are delivered by
our courier please also advise
us so we can make adjustments.

Important Notice: The Archdiocese of Melbourne – Catholic Development Fund (the Fund) is not prudentially supervised by the Australian Prudential Regulation
Authority nor has it been examined or approved by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Therefore, an investor in the Fund will not receive the beneﬁt
of the ﬁnancial claims scheme or the depositor protection provisions in the Banking Act 1959 (Cth).
Investments in the Fund are intended to be a means for investors to support the charitable, religious and educational works of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne,
the Catholic Diocese of Sale and the Catholic Diocese of Bunbury and for whom the consideration of proﬁt are not of primary relevance in the investment decision.
Furthermore, investors should be aware that neither the Fund nor the Trustees of the Roman Catholic Trusts Corporation for the Archdiocese of Melbourne is subject
to the normal requirements to have a disclosure statement or Product Disclosure Statement or be registered under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). CDPF Limited, a
company established by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, has indemniﬁed the Fund against any liability arising out of a claim by investors in the Fund.

INTERNATIONAL
a i d
agencies and local charities find
collecting money to be so much
harder today.
It seems that we are assailed
by so much bad news, so many
tragedies, so many refugees,
so many catastrophes that we
turn off, we have become a bit
‘immune’ or we wonder ‘what
can one person do to help all of
that?’
‘What difference would the
little I have to offer make?’
‘How do I know it will get to
them anyway?’
The sheer number of
organisations vying for funds
can also overwhelm us, as well
as the ‘in-your-face’ fundraising
tactics used by some.
While surveys indicate that
many people feel charities
overspend on fundraising,
when there is so much need and
so many charities vying for our
dollar, spending on fundraising
advertising may well be
understandable.
On the other hand, there are
those who just don’t want to
give money. It’s not unusual
to hear: “Don’t get me wrong,
I fully respect charities and the
people who raise money for
them but…..”
It is easy enough to find a
reason NOT to give. On the
other hand, some would rather
do something more personal,
more local, more immediate.
But if we are not giving, then
what are we doing? How do we

Help us to help others
Donate now to support charities aiding families
Trinity Families needs your
financial support to ensure that it
can continue to meet the needs
of families in our region.
We need to greatly enlarge
our financial base so we can
continue our support to charities
providing vital welfare services.
Direct debits can be made to
Trinity Families BSB 083-879
A/c 84343 9687 or you can use
the form below to make a credit
card donation.
All donations of $2 or more are tax deductible
Roman Catholic Diocese of Sale Charitable Fund

✄

Reflections
by Jim Quillinan
contribute to the lives of others,
to the human family, especially
those who need our help?
We are all diminished by
the suffering of others, the
starvation, the injustice, the
cruel treatment meted out to
the most vulnerable. As St
Paul wrote: If one part suffers,
every part suffers with it. (1 Cor
12:26).
Or do we just move on, sad
that so many are suffering ‘but
what can I do?’ And millions
of people live on — shattered,
poor, lost, hungry and forgotten
— and along comes another
news item.
Almsgiving is important.
Lent reminds us of that. Lent
reminds us that we need each
other. We can easily get wound
up in our own lives, our own
‘rat race’.
We can become very selfabsorbed, very focussed on our
own needs and goals, ambitions
and dreams.
Learning that ‘giving is part
of living’ is important. It is
good to see in our schools, and
parishes Project Compassion
and other activities that
encourage personal generosity,
that raise awareness right from
the start that we are a human
family, each dependent on
one another. It is even better,
however, if that is modelled in
the home.
Lent highlights almsgiving,
not just as another way of
doing penance but almsgiving
reminds us that all we have is
gift - life itself and just about
everything thereafter.
Almsgiving can be a
reality check – it gives us the
opportunity to reflect on the
saying, ‘if you want to see what
people really believe in, take
a look at how they spend their
money’
Almsgiving also gives us the
opportunity to place the needs
of others before ourselves and

give generously from our own
resources.
In the words of Pope Francis,
gratitude should be one of
the characteristics of being a
Christian because ‘aware of
having received everything
from God freely, that is without
any merit, (a Christian) learns
to give to others freely’.
Almsgiving is a sign of
genuine gratitude because
‘alms are given to someone
from whom you would not
expect to receive anything in
return’.
There are literally millions of
people in our world community
who are starving, who live in
hopeless situations.
Our generosity can do more
than provide immediate help
for them – it can help to change
the underlying systems that
keep people in the bondage of
poverty and crushing injustice.
It can help to help train people
in new skills, to find solutions
to their own problems, to make
a lasting contribution.
While it is always helpful
to give locally, to give to local
situations of tragedy or hardship
or devastation caused by floods
or storms or whatever, giving to
change systems, to help people
develop new skills is equally
important and long lasting.
Pope Francis writes that
“whenever our interior life
becomes caught up in its own
interests and concerns, there is
no longer room for others, no
place for the poor.
God’s voice is no longer
heard, the quiet joy of his love
is no longer felt, and the desire
to do good fades.
We end up being incapable
of feeling compassion at the
outcry of the poor, weeping for
other people’s pain, and feeling
a need to help them, as though
all this were someone else’s
responsibility and not our own.”

Our Family Caring For Your Family
Since 1979
Member Of The Australian Funeral
Directors Association

Away for a weekend
and need to check local
Mass times?
Use the QR scanning app on
your smart phone and it will
take you directly to the
Diocese of Sale website

Catholic Life, February 2017 - Page 7

Pope urges room in the heart for God’s word
WITHOUT making room for
God’s word in their heart,
people will never be able to
welcome and love all human
life, Pope Francis has said in his
2017 Lenten message.
“Each life that we encounter
is a gift deserving acceptance,
respect and love,” the Pope said
in his message for Lent, which
begins on March 1.
“The word of God helps us to
open our eyes to welcome and
love life, especially when it is
weak and vulnerable,” he wrote.
Released by the Vatican on
February 7, the text of the
Pope’s Lenten message entitled
“The Word is a gift. Other
persons are gift” – focused on
the parable of the rich man and
Lazarus in the Gospel of St
Luke (16:19-31).
The parable calls for sincere
conversion, the Pope said,
and it “provides a key to
understanding what we need
to do in order to attain true
happiness and eternal life.”
In the Gospel account,
Lazarus and his suffering are
described in great detail. While
he is “practically invisible to the
rich man,” the Gospel gives him
a name and a face, upholding
him as worthy, as “a gift, a
priceless treasure, a human
being whom God loves and
cares for, despite his concrete
condition as an outcast,” the
Pope wrote.
The parable shows that
“a right relationship with
people consists in gratefully

Lenten message
recognising their value,” he
said. “A poor person at the door
of the rich is not a nuisance, but
a summons to conversion and to
change.”
But in order to understand
how to open one’s heart and
see the other as gift, a person
must see how the word of God
operates.
One way to do that, he said, is
to be aware of the temptations
and traps the rich man fell
victim to, derailing his search
for true happiness.
The nameless “rich man”
lives an opulent, ostentatious
life, the Pope wrote, and his
love of money leads to vanity
and pride – “the lowest rung of
this moral degradation.”
“The rich man dresses like
a king and acts like a god,
forgetting that he is merely
mortal,” he said.
“For those corrupted by
love of riches, nothing exists
beyond their own ego. Those
around them do not come into
their line of sight. The result
of attachment to money is a
sort of blindness. The rich man
does not see the poor man who
is starving, hurting, lying at his
door.”
Love of money, St Paul
warned, “is the root of all evils,”
and the Pope said, it is also “the
main cause of corruption and
a source of envy, strife and
suspicion.”

“Instead
of
being
an
instrument at our service
for doing good and showing
solidarity toward others, money
can chain us and the entire
world to a selfish logic that
leaves no room for love and
hinders peace,” he added.
The rich man’s eyes are finally
opened after he and Lazarus are
dead; Lazarus finds comfort in
heaven and the rich man finds
torment in “the netherworld,”
because, as Abraham explains,
“a kind of fairness is restored”
in the afterlife and “life’s evils
are balanced by good,” the pope
said.
The rich man then asks for
an extraordinary sign – Lazarus
coming back from the dead – to
be given to his family members
so they will repent and not make
the same mistake as he.
But, Abraham said the people
have plenty of teachings with
“Moses and the prophets. Let
them listen to them,” the pope
said.
This explains what the real
problem is for the rich man’s
and those like him: “At the root
of all his ills was the failure to
heed God’s word. As a result,
he no longer loved God and
grew to despise his neighbor,”
the Pope said.
The Pope asked that Lent
be a time “for renewing our
encounter with Christ, living in
his word, in the sacraments and

in our neighbor.”
“May the Holy Spirit lead us
on a true journey of conversion,
so that we can rediscover the
gift of God’s word, be purified
of the sin that blinds us and

serve Christ present in our
brothers and sisters in need,” he
said, especially by taking part in
the various Lenten campaigns
sponsored by local churches.

BARRY AND ANNETTE LETT

Funeral Directors

Barry and Bradley Lett offer
care, compassion and service
with dignity for the people of
Gippsland.
Caring and personal 24-hour
service.

Prepaid and prearranged funeral plans available.

67 Macarthur St., Sale 3850

(03) 5143 1232

Cruise the

Mediterranean
in style
When you take out a new Car, Home
or Landlord insurance policy with CCI
Personal Insurance, you’re not only
helping to support Catholic community
programs, but you also have the
chance to win a 7 night Mediterranean
cruise for two!*
To enter, simply take out a new Car,
Home or Landlord policy before the
31st March 2017.
Visit our website
catholicinsurance.org.au/mediterranean
or call 1300 657 046 for a quote today.

Helping Catholic
projects grow

Home

Contents

Car

Personal Accident

Travel

Landlord

You can read more about the range of
Catholic programs we support at:
catholicinsurance.org.au/community

A family violence story:
Help is available
THIS article provided by CatholicCare tells in graphic detail
what a family violence situation can be like. At the end there
is a list of contacts where the victims and/or the perpetrators
can seek assistance. The names of those involved have been
changed.
MARIA and Jack had been married for
15 years and had three children. They
had lived in the same area for most of
their lives and their parents and other
family lived close by.
People who knew Jack saw him as a
good family man and a hard worker. He
got on well with people at work and was
generous with his time in the local clubs
he and his family belonged to.
Maria was involved in her children’s
school and welcomed family and friends
to their home. She worked part time in
the evenings at the local hospital while
Jack was at home with the children.
Marriage was important to Maria and
Jack. They both enjoyed their children
in spite of the usual demands and
challenges of being parents. However,
there were times when Maria thought
of leaving the marriage because Jack’s
attitude and behavior towards her was
increasingly difficult to live with.
She had two friends she confided in
and they told her it was not fair that she
should be ‘walking on eggshells’ around
Jack when he was in one of his moods
and likely to explode. They said his
attitude and behavior were abusive and
would be affecting the children as well
as herself.
The children sometimes saw or heard
their parents yelling and screaming at
each other over the years, but recently
noticed that their mother became quiet
when their father was getting angry.
They knew the signs and knew when
they needed to be ‘good’ or keep out of
Jack’s way until he was calm again....
to keep the peace. He sometimes
lashed out physically and verbally, and
once Maria thought their six year old

daughter must have heard him throw
his phone at the bedroom wall during an
argument, because she found the girl in
her older sister’s bed the next morning.
But nobody said anything about it.
One night Jack threw his plate of food
and smashed it against the pantry door.
He then upended his chair. Maria and
the children froze, terrified. Their cousin
was staying with them that night and
he felt shocked and distressed, but he
tried not to show it. Next day he told his
father, Jack’s brother, Mario, what had
happened.
Mario tried talking to Jack about the
incident a few days later, remembering
Jack’s angry outbursts as a child and
teenager. But Jack said he was a bit
stressed about work and money and
hadn’t done anything wrong.
People were over reacting and this was
what made him angry. Who wouldn’t be?
He was also sick of Maria’s nagging.
Mario then spoke to Maria when they
were alone. He was worried about her
and the children. Maria admitted Jack
often pushed her out of his way when he
was angry and sometimes hit her.
She said once when he did this she
fell and needed stiches to her face after
hitting her head on a table. She told her
doctor it was an accident. She suspected
her son might have seen this, but hoped
she was wrong.
Another time, Jack punched her so
hard in the ribs that she could barely
breathe. She told the children to run to
the car as she grabbed her car keys and
fled from the house. That night they
slept in the car.
After Jack left early for work next
morning, Maria got the children ready

-123RF image

for school. She told Mario she asked
the children not to talk about what had
happened and told them she would try
harder to make everything all right. Their
father was just stressed sometimes.
Maria’s friends and Mario couldn’t
understand why she hadn’t taken the
children and left Jack. It was hard for
her to explain, but she admitted she
got close to leaving a few years earlier,
before discovering she was pregnant
with their third child.
Maria had left a couple of times since,
with and without the children, staying
for a ‘holiday’ at her parents’ place.
However she felt guilty when Jack
begged her to return, saying he loved
her and was truly sorry and would never
lose his temper with her or the children
again.
It was like a roller coaster ride, with
Jack happy and supportive sometimes,
before tension would build up and he
would become angry again.
Maria told her friends and Mario
she was worried about how separation
would distress their parents and other
family members. She felt ashamed. The
neighbors had knocked on the door one
night because they had heard screaming
and banging, but Maria told them
everything was okay. She hated having
to face them next morning.
Maria was also worried about breaking
up the family and leaving the house
she and Jack had built. Where would
they all live? How would they manage
financially?
She needed Jack to mind the children
while she worked in the evenings, and
he had said he would only do that if
they were all living together. Everybody
loved the family dog. Who would he live
with?
Worse, Jack threatened to harm Maria
if she left him and had also threatened
to harm himself. Maria was confused.
What was the right thing to do? Would

she be better off if she left? Would the
children be better off? How could she be
sure?
Maria’s friends and Mario became
increasingly worried and felt frustrated
with her.
They encouraged Maria to make
plans to leave, but knew they couldn’t
force her. Jack’s brother checked on
the children regularly to make sure they
were not being physically harmed and
let them talk about their worries if they
wanted to. He also spoke to Jack about
getting some confidential support or
counselling for himself.
One day Maria was shocked to get
a phone call from the school principal
saying her son had an argument with
another child and had punched the child.
This was not like her son and he was
in the principal’s office in tears. The boy
told the principal what was happening at
home and spoke about his fears for his
mother, father and brother and sister,
but he didn’t want to get anybody into
trouble.
Maria felt ashamed, but also relieved
that the family secret was out and that
the principal cared about her family.
He gave Maria a list of services she
could contact for information and
support. She rang a state-wide service
and learned that family violence happens
in all cultures and communities and
rarely stops without help from outside.
She learned that support is available
for all family members if wanted and is
usually free or low cost. Maria decided
she needed to separate from Jack and
made preparations over the next few
weeks, telling only those people she
needed to.
Using whatever supports were
available, she was determined to get
through this tough time and also hoped
Jack would seek help for himself. His
children needed him.

Places which can help

-123RF image

Let’s eliminate
family violence

CatholicCare Gippsland is available to provide counselling for
individuals, couple and families on a range of issues and they may
provide links to family violence services. Call 1800 522 076 for a
confidential appointment.
In a crisis requiring immediate response people are urged to phone
000.
Other services which may assist are Safe Steps 1800 015 188
which provides a 24 hour family violence support service for women
and children experiencing violence from a partner, ex-partner, or
another family member and the InTouch Multicultural Centre Against
Family Violence 1800 755 988 where bi-lingual workers can provide
assistance for women.
Men can access an anonymous referral service between 9am and
9pm on 1300 766 491 or 1800 065 973 and Mensline Australia on
1300 789 978 where they can talk about being a survivor of abuse or
their own violent behavior.

Catholic Life, February 2017 - Page 9

Diocese launch at Sale
THE
annual
Project
Compassion Lenten Appeal
will be officially launched
in Sale Diocese on Tuesday,
February 28.
The launch will take place in
the chapel at the Sion campus
of Catholic College Sale at
11am.
Bishop
Pat
O’Regan
will be attendance as will
representatives
of
other

schools.
Following
the
launch
traditional Shrove Tuesday
pancakes will be served.
Caritas
community
engagement
group
coordinator Megan Bourke will
conduct a Just Leadership Day
at Mary MacKillop Primary
School, Narre Warren on
March 14.

Annual appeal supports programs in 29 countries
IN support of the world’s
poor, including millions in our
immediate region, thousands
of school children, teachers,
churches
and
community
leaders across Australia are
putting
their
compassion
into action, during Caritas
Australia’s Project Compassion.
The World Bank estimates
that 90 million people live in
extreme poverty in Australia’s
neighboring region. Another
300 million are vulnerable to
falling back into poverty due

to natural disasters, climate
change, disease and economic
shocks.
Project Compassion funds
humanitarian and long-term
development programs in
more than 29 countries across
Asia, Africa, the Pacific, Latin
America and First Australian
communities. It runs during
Lent, and last year raised $11.1
million.
Through this year’s theme
Love Your Neighbor, Caritas
Australia demonstrates how

A story of healing

DINIA enjoys a meal with her family.

DINIA’s story is one of
healing, through her own
skill and perseverance, and
through support from a CaritasAustralia funded program.
Living in the Philippines, she
struggled daily with poverty in
a country with many vulnerable
communities. People living in
rural and coastal areas have very
little access to basic services.
They face extreme weather
events,
environmental
degradation and the effects of
internal conflict and have little
hope of a sustainable income.
For Dinia, the untimely death
of her husband meant an end to
his small income and a greater
struggle to feed and educate her
children.
She struggled alone, facing a
future without hope, until her
community encouraged her to
participate in the Socio Pastoral
Action Center Foundation
Inc. program supported by
Caritas Australia. SPACFI’s
integrated
community
development program helped
her develop diverse ways to
gain a sustainable livelihood,
continue to send her children
to school and contribute to her
community.
The program foregrounds
the need to work together for
the common good, awakening
Dinia’s innate generosity and
leadership qualities. She was
able to learn about organic
farming, managing livestock,
and starting a small business.
Now she has an integral role

in her community, a sustainable
livelihood, and a brighter future
for her children. “My life is
much better now. It is much
easier,” she says.

this approach can transform
lives.
Caritas Australia CEO Paul
O’Callaghan said “Caritas
Australia has worked with
partner agencies overseas and
in First Australian communities
to assist those communities lift
themselves out of poverty. We
have transformed millions of
lives in the process, including
over 2 million people directly
last year through our emergency
and development programs.”
Focused on our Love Your

Neighbor
theme,
Caritas
Australia will feature human
stories from the Philippines,
Timor-Leste,
Australia,
Vietnam and Fiji.
“I encourage you to support
Project Compassion because
your donations make a big
difference to our capacity to
help impoverished communities
become stronger and more
resilient. This can only lead to
a better future for our world,”
said Mr O’Callaghan.
During Lent, Australians

are invited to support Project
Compassion
by
making
a donation, or by hosting
fundraising events in their local
school, parish, community or
neighborhood.
Supporters can also to share
their stories on social media at
#ProjectCompassion.
To
donate
to
Project
Compassion or for fundraising
ideas visit www.caritas.org.au/
projectcompassion or phone
1800 024 413.

Providing a supportive community
FOR Martina, an East Timorese mother of eight,
escaping domestic violence was the first step in
her journey to a new life. But at first, her future
seemed very uncertain.
Timor-Leste is one of the least developed
countries in the world, with extremely low levels
of basic health, literacy and income. Most East
Timorese live in rural areas, with very limited access to basic services or livelihood training, and
many households don’t have enough food year
round.
The shelter where Martina sought refuge, Uma
PAS, offered her many ways to transcend these
challenges. Uma PAS is a partner in Caritas
Australia’s Protection Program, a holistic community-wide program in Timor-Leste that offers
women like Martina economic empowerment
and a life of safety in a supportive community.

Through the program, she was linked with a
network of support services, and this enabled her
to undertake livelihood training and start a small
business to support her children.

THE gathered crowd watches the miracle of the Dance of the Sun.
2017 marks the centenary accompanied the children on
of what is undoubtable the their monthly visits but only
most incredible miracle of the the children saw or heard the
modern era which took place woman.
near Fatima, Portugal.
She promised a great miracle
The claims of three shepherd in October to prove that she was
children to have seen and from Heaven and she would
spoken to Our Lady who give the children an important
identified herself as “The Lady message for the world.
of the Rosary” are remarkable
Heavy rain poured all
but what took place afterwards through the night before and
is something which has baffled that morning and the ground
people ever since.
underfoot became extremely
More than 70,000 people muddy as the crowd drawn
gathered near Fatima to witness from a wide number of villages
what has been called the turned up for the expected
Dance of the Sun and the event miracle.
was recorded by journalists
These were not only
and photographers who had poor farm laborers and

THE three young shepherd children Lucia Santos, Francisco
Marto and Jacinta Marto.
gathered on the word of the
children who said the lady had
promised a miracle.
Even allowing for the
possibility that the size of the
crowd was exaggerated by
journalists, photographs show a
sea of thousands of people.
The Fatima apparitions began
at noon on May 13, 1917 when
the three children claimed a
beautiful lady had appeared to
them.
Lucia Santos and her cousins
Francisco and Jacinta Marto
told villagers of the apparition
and news spread like wildfire.
She asked the children to
return at noon on the 13th day
of each month which they did
apart from one month when the
local mayor had them locked up
because he believed they were
telling lies.
A growing crowd of people

their families – there were
doctors, teachers, university
professors, storekeepers and
more importantly for proof of
the event, a large number or
reporters and photographers.
That such a large number of
people were willing to brave
the cold and rain on the say so
of three children is in itself a
minor miracle.
However, the Portuguese
government at the time was
anti-church and was busy
supressing religion by closing
churches and expelling priests
and religious sisters.
The promise of a miracle gave
the people hope in such difficult
times for the Church.
While the majority were
willing to accept a sign from
Heaven, there were also many
doubters who turned up with
the plan to ridicule the faithful

when the promised miracle did
not eventuate.
At noon, the children knelt
down and their faces became
flushed as they gazed at what
they said was a beautiful lady
“clothed in light” who was
giving them a message.
Ten-year-old Lucia called
out for people to put away their
umbrellas, which they did, and
then she told them to look at the
sun. Suddenly the rain stopped
and the dark clouds parted like
a curtain to reveal the sun.
Amazingly people found they
could look directly at the sun
without blinking or shielding
their eyes and then the sun
which was like a silver disc
began to whirl around, shooting
out red rays then changing
slowly to each of the colors of
the rainbow.
The sun seemed to tremble
and plunge in a zig-zag motion
towards earth, growing larger
and larger.
This instilled
great fear in
the large crowd
and many began
praying.
The dance of
the sun lasted
about 10 minutes
after which it
climbed in a zigzag motion back
to its normal
position in the sky
and resumed its
brilliance.
Journalists
described
the
events in great
details and these
were published in
newspapers which
only days before
had been scoffing
at the children’s
predictions of a
miracle.
While the children
reported seeing the
lady standing on a
white cloud which
settled at the top of
a tree, some others
claimed to have seen a
luminous light shining
in the tree.
The children were
questioned about the
lady they had seen in
their vision and Lucia,
who was the eldest and
main spokesperson, said
she had told them “I am
the Lady of the Rosary.”

The Church set about
investigating
the
alleged
miracle and whether the dance
of the sun might have been some
unusual solar phenomenon.
The local bishop opened the
canonical process to inquire
into the miracle in 1922,
interviewing the children, their
families and dozens of other
people.
After eight years the bishop
announced
the
Church’s

approval of the Fatima miracle
and that official permission was
given for devotion to Our Lady
of Fatima.
That official declaration has
been ratified by all popes since.
In a forthcoming issue of
Catholic Life we will look
at the messages given to the
children, including the three
secrets which they were told
not to reveal immediately.

A PORTUGUESE newspaper reports the event.

Catholic Life, February 2017 - Page 11

Retirement - Great expections, underwhelming reality
HSBC have recently published
a report titled The Future of
Retirement: Generations and
Journeys.
The report looks at the
expectations of people still
working and also at the reality
of those already retired, and the
differences between the two.
Working Australians now
face a longer stretch of time
to achieve parity with those
already retired.
This is a global report but I’ll
concentrate on the findings as
they apply to Australians. For
a start, the average Australian
will have to save for 11 years
longer, so for a start, we’re
behind the game already.
But our expectations of how
things will work are somewhat
optimistic, too.
Interruptions to retirement
plans are common – at least 40
percent of all those with plans
have had their plans interrupted,
and this is part of the reason
why a plan is essential.
Sometimes it’s parenthood,
sometimes it’s injuries or
illnesses, some expected some
not. This can causes incomes
to fall and savings to stall, so
retirement savings get put on
the back burner. It’s a bit like
draining the swamp. It’s hard to
remember that’s the objective

when there are crocodiles all
around.
The part of the survey I found
interesting, though, is the gap
between expectations and the
reality of retirement.
There are some important
numbers, and they illustrate
with David Wells
the divide. 26 percent (of
investment nature the
respondents) expect to be able doing that in retirement.
The quick lesson from all this more time you have the better
to use their house to support
retirement, and yet only 8 is that reality doesn’t match the the outcome.
Knowing all this is fine, but
percent of retirees actually do expectation, and finding this
use their house for retirement out at retirement means it’s too avoiding as many pitfalls as
late to do anything about it. possible is a different matter
purposes.
Some 31 percent expect to Most things are set in stone by altogether. So what are the
lessons that younger people can
use an inheritance (my children then.
The answer is not just saving learn from our retirees?
know better) but that happens
The first is definitely start
only with 9 percent when they for longer. That won’t cover
low
in
especially
problem,
the
Most retirees wished
earlier.
reach retirement. 17 percent
expect to use a pension or interest rate times. Downsizing that they had done so. Not
retirement scheme yet only 9 property may help, drawdowns necessarily so that they could
of other investments may help, retire earlier, but so they could
percent of retirees do so now.
retire with a little more financial
On the income front, 31 too.
You may be in a situation security.
percent expect to be able to use
The second is to think about
earned income in retirement where you can still work (even
- that’s reduced to 10 percent to a small extent) and then what your expenses are and
there’s Centrelink, but the full think of them critically. What
among those already retired.
On the expenses front, the pension roughly equates to the are you spending now and how
numbers aren’t any better. 28 poverty line and who wants to much of those expenses will
you have at your retirement.
percent of pre-retirees expect go there?
when
times
two
are
There
You will probably have more
still to be borrowing whereas
51 percent of retirees have people should be looking to than you think.
Get professional. This is
retired with debt. That’s a lot plan for retirement. Starting in
You
important.
more debt, and the cost of the low-to-mid-20’s is probably critically
passed
you’ve
If
time.
best
the
and
ed
qualifi
educated,
need
that is substantial. 30 percent
expect to be supporting others. that age, then the next best time impartial and trusted advice,
The truth is that 45 percent are is today. Like all things of an even from a number of sources.

DOLLAR$
&
SENSE

You need to know the
pitfalls, the possibilities and the
methods to get you to a better
place in your retirement, one
that you can enjoy.
And be prepared for the
unexpected. We can never
be sure of what’s around the
corner and what the world may
be like when you get to your
retirement age.
There will be shocks along
the way. Be prepared and
have a plan that lets you get
through these, and leaves your
retirement intact.
In a future article I’ll discuss
various things that may help
people do better all the way
through to retirement.
This article is based on
“The Future of Retirement:
Generations and Journeys”,
published by HSBC in
Australia, November 2016.
• This report is intended to provide general
advice. In preparing this advice, David Wells
and Shaw and Partners did not take into account
the investment objective, the financial situation
and particular needs of any particular person.
Before making an investment decision on the
basis of this advice, you need to consider, with
or without the assistance of an adviser, whether
the advice is appropriate in light of your particular investment needs, objectives and financial
circumstances.

Rising pastoral worker deaths are distressing
CATHOLIC
Mission
has
described a report claiming that
28 pastoral workers were killed
in 2016 in the line of duty, the
highest number reported since
2009, as “distressing”.
The annual report, released
by Agenzia Fides, suggests a
rise in the number of pastoral

workers, priests, religious men
and women, and lay Catholics
killed worldwide, which in
2015 stood at 22.
Last year’s figure includes
14 priests, nine religious
women, four lay people and a
seminarian.
Once again, the most prolific

number of killings occurred
in the United States, where 12
pastoral workers died violently.
National director of Catholic
Mission Fr Brian Lucas said
the report was concerning and
reflected increasing levels of
global persecution against
Christians.

Everyone should have right
not to back same-sex marriage
ALL members of religious
groups deserve the right to
not participate in same-sex
marriage ceremonies if they
hold a traditional view of
marriage, according to an
Australian Catholic Bishops’
Conference submission to the
Senate.
The Senate has established
a select committee to examine
draft exemptions for ministers
of religion, marriage celebrants
and religious groups so they
do not have to participate in
same-sex marriage ceremonies,
should the law be changed.
Chair
of
the
ACBC
Commission for Family. Youth
and Life Archbishop Anthony
Fisher OP said changing
the definition of marriage
would have an impact on all
the members of the Catholic
Church.
“Perhaps the most significant
impact would be on ordinary
parishioners trying to live their
Catholic faith in their daily
lives.
“So while the ACBC
appreciates
the
basic
protections offered, it must
acknowledge that there are no

protections offered for the vast
majority of the faithful who
wish to continue to practise
their beliefs.”
People should be free
to decline to endorse by
participation, activities or
ceremonies that were contrary
to their beliefs.
“For
example,
people
may decline to involve their
businesses in activities that they
consider may be harmful to the
community or which may be
harmful to the environment.
Likewise, in the case of
same-sex marriage, people
with conscientious objection
should be free to decline to
be involved, including where
their business is approached to
provide services.
“The point at issue when
services are declined is not the
sexual orientation of the person
involved: Christians and their
businesses serve people of all
backgrounds without question
every day.
“The issue is whether they
wish to endorse someone
else's activity or belief by
providing marriage counselling
and preparation, a wedding

“It is certainly distressing to
see a seven-year high in the
number of pastoral workers
killed worldwide, although it is
perhaps not surprising,” he said.
“Once again, this report
serves as a reminder of the great
sacrifices made by men and
women all around the world
in their mission of sharing the
message and love of Jesus,
and promoting good in their
communities.
Sometimes,
sadly, it is the ultimate sacrifice
that they make.”
While attempted robbery was
the motivating factor in the
majority of the killings, many of
the priests, religious sisters and

lay people were outspoken on
matters of injustice, corruption
and poverty in the name of the
Gospel, according to Agenzia
Fides.
The Vatican-based Catholic
news agency claims that “hardly
any” of the investigations into
the killings led to convictions
or even charges against
their perpetrators, let alone
uncovering the reasons for the
crimes.
Fr Lucas called for prayers
for all missionaries around
the world, especially those
killed during the past year and
those at risk of violence and
persecution.

Archbishop Fisher
reception venue, or some
other support for a samesex 'wedding' ceremony or
celebration.”
Archbishop Fisher said that
if religious liberty was not
given greater support than the
minimal exemptions allowed,
any redefinition of marriage in
law was very likely to infringe
upon the right of faith-based
schools to choose staff that
accord with their beliefs and
mission and upon the right of
parents and families to choose
a school that accords with their
beliefs and best suits their child.
A copy of the full submission
is available at www.catholic.
org.au.

Vanuatu voices entertain
KOO WEE RUP - The melodic
voices of the local seasonal
workers from Vanuatu have
become well known throughout
the area
They come together to
harmonise with each other
socially and also attending
local churches where possible,
to share their wonderful
expression of faith through
song.
These fellows, some with
wives and young children,
leave their homes and families
in Vanuatu to work here
throughout
the
asparagus
season, in order to earn wages
that are otherwise inaccessible
for them.
You may have seen then
working in the asparagus fields
or on one of their regular visits
into Koo Wee Rup or Pakenham

St Nicholas Mass in Tooradin
in December and entertained
further, following Mass.
The following week they
also sang at St John the
Baptist Church, Koo Wee Rup.
They then sang further
after Mass to the delight of
the parishioners who were
absolutely mesmerised by their
beautiful voices and calling for
encores.
The men put on a concert
before Christmas at the Koo
Wee Rup Community Centre
in appreciation of the work and
hospitality afforded to them
whilst in the area.
About
300
Vanuatu
men performed in groups
of 5-20 and were welcomed
with open hearts by the local
community.
Lunch and afternoon tea was
provided by the farmers.
The Vanuatu men have since
returned back to their homes
with perhaps 20 remaining
to continue working on some
fields.
The
asparagus
growers
are very appreciative of the
wonderful work that they do
and look forward to welcoming
them back in August for the
next asparagus season.

THE new Bishop of Lismore in
northern NSW, will be ordained
on February 28.
He is Fr Greg Homeming
OCD, a Carmelite priest, and
first Chinese-Australian to be
elevated to bishop.
He was born in Sydney and
was a lawyer before joining the
Discalced Carmelites in 1985.
After attending seminary in
Melbourne he was ordained a
priest in 1991.
Bishop-elect Homeming is
a popular leader of retreats
and has been Provincial of the
Carmelites.

ACN helping a rapidly growing African Church
“IT is night time in Africa. I am
flying through the night from
Rome to Africa. The flight
takes six hours.”
This comment is dated April
1965 and recorded in the book
Where God Weeps by its author,
Fr Werenfried van Straaten, the
founder of the Catholic pastoral
charity Aid to the Church in
Need.
In it he records the moments
leading up to his arrival in
the capital of what is now the
Democratic Republic of the
Congo.
This first visit of his to the
African continent lasted just
nine days during which, in
addition to visiting Kinshasa,
he also went to Kivu, Isiro and
Kisangani.
On his return he described
the stages of his journey as
“the stations on the Way of
the Cross”. Following that
first visit, there were to be
five more journeys to Africa
between September 1968 and
the end of the 1980s, during
which the man known to many
as the Bacon Priest was able to
witness first-hand the sufferings
of the continent and the poverty
of the Church there.

this Dutch Norbertine priest
to help those most in need led
him, around the middle of last
century, to establish the charity
Aid to the Church in Need in
order to support evangelisation
and the pastoral work of the
Church.
Created initially as a Public
Association of the faithful,
it was raised to the rank of
a Pontifical Foundation in
December 2011.
ACN was born in 1947, just
after the end of the Second
World War, initially to help the
uprooted Catholic communities
in Germany, expelled from
Eastern Europe.
Later it extended its goals
to embrace other places, other
continents, other challenges.
Gradually,
the
primary
motivation of helping those
persecuted for their faith, as
was habitually the case in the
communist countries beyond
the Iron Curtain, ceased to be
the sole and overriding reason
for its work.
In other countries and
other continents, the Church
was suffering other forms of
poverty and marginalisation,
suffering which also required

same time also a season of
sowing the seed, so that a truly
local Church could spring
up, alongside Islam and the
traditional African religions.

Projects and initiatives
From those earliest aid
projects and up to the present
day, there have been thousands
of initiatives funded by ACN on
this continent.
In 2016 alone a total of 1800
projects were supported and
over $30 million of aid directed
towards Africa.
Notable here was the aid for
the Democratic Republic of the
Congo, Ethiopia, South Sudan,
Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda,
Madagascar,
Cameroon,
Burkina Faso and Nigeria.
According to a report by
the charity on its work in
Africa last year, “In all the
above-mentioned
countries
the youthful and vital African
Catholic Church is in need
of our solidarity ... We give
priority to the regions of recent
evangelisation and those places
where the local church is less
well established.”
As an organisation whose
main aim is to support the most
needy, ACN helps in various
ways – through Mass offerings
to support priests in need,
pastoral projects, construction
projects, training programmes
for pastoral workers, motor
vehicles, support for the
life and ministry of priests
and religious communities,
religious literature and the
communications media – by
order of importance in terms
of the number of projects
approved.
The aid requests from Africa
have also revealed a picture of a
local Church that is assuming a
character of its own and which
is in need of help to build or
renew its infrastructure. The
Church in Africa has grown
rapidly in the past half-century
– and with it so have its needs.

Climate and war
At the same time he was
able to appreciate the work
that needed to be done by the
Church in Africa and the aid
that ACN could give on that
journey.
“There is a task to be done
here by our charity”, he
wrote. “Not only must we
help the devastated dioceses
… to rebuild, spiritually and
materially; but we must above
all invest our love, money and
ideas in the formation of lay
leaders trained in the pastoral
apostolate.”
At the time he was referring
here in particular to the Church
in the former Belgian Congo,
but his words could equally be
applied to many other parts of
the continent.
By the time Fr Werenfried
arrived in Africa, he already had
a profound knowledge of the
sufferings of the Church all over
the world. The commitment of

an appropriate response.
In this context, Africa, with its
wealth of different languages,
cultures, traditions and peoples,
combined with its political
instability and its marked social
inequalities, came to be a major
challenge for ACN.
The involvement of the
charity in Africa followed close
on the heels of the phase of
decolonisation and coincided
with a burgeoning nationalist
sentiment that was taking
root among peoples who had
formerly looked towards the
colonial powers as their main
point of reference.
In the ecclesial field it
coincided with broad areas of
primary evangelisation, linked
to communities where foreign
missionaries had carried out
an intensive, though still
unfinished labour.
It was a moment of the birth
of new countries, but at the

ACN is conscious of the fact
that a considerable proportion
of the Church infrastructure on
this continent was built 40, 60,
80 or even more years ago by
European missionaries and is
now beginning to show clear
signs of deterioration, owing
to the passage of time and the
inclemency of the African
climate.
Quite apart from the climatic
factors, the armed conflicts on
much of the continent have
also taken a toll, directly or
indirectly, on the churches,
convents and other religious
buildings so necessary to the
local communities.
Angola is an obvious
example here, having suffered a
protracted civil war ever since
the end of colonial rule. Looking
at recent photographs of some
of the Angolan churches, you
might be forgiven for thinking
that the war had ended only
yesterday.

the repair and renovation of
other major seminaries in
Madagascar, Tanzania, Guinea
Conakry and the Central
African Republic.
A pastoral and humanitarian
mission
ACN has always been
ready to provide emergency
humanitarian aid in the event
of natural disasters or armed
conflicts. Hence, as the charity
itself states, “All our projects
in Africa, including those
of a strictly pastoral nature,
also include a humanitarian
dimension. These two aspects
are inseparable in Africa.”
In fact two of the most recent
projects have involved aid for
refugee camps in Malakal,
South Sudan, and for uprooted
refugee families from Burundi
who have sought shelter in
Tanzania.
ACN attends to the pastoral
needs of the Church while
still remaining close to those
in need. It is a path that ACN
has followed and continues to
follow, now more than half a
century on from that day when
a Dutch priest, on a flight from
Rome to Kinshasa, described
what he could see through the
window of his plane.

Mission to Medjugore
VATICAN City.- Pope Francis
has appointed Archbishop
Henryk Hoser of WarszawaPraga as a delegate of the Holy
See to look into the pastoral
situation at Medjugore, the site
of alleged Marian apparitions in
Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“The mission has the aim of
acquiring a deeper knowledge
of the pastoral situation there
and above all, of the needs of
the faithful who go there in
pilgrimage, and on the basis of
this, to suggest possible pastoral
initiatives for the future,” stated
a February 11 communique
from the Vatican Secretariat of
State.
“The mission will therefore
have an exclusively pastoral
character,” it added.
Greg Burke, the Holy See

press officer said “The special
envoy won’t enter into the
substance of the Marian
apparitions, which is a doctrinal
question in the competency
of the Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith.”
The alleged apparitions
originally began June 24,
1981, when six children in
Medjugorje, a town in what is
now Bosnia and Herzegovina,
began to experience phenomena
which they have claimed to
be apparitions of the Blessed
Virgin Mary.
According to these six “seers,”
the apparitions contained a
message of peace for the world,
a call to conversion, prayer
and fasting, as well as certain
secrets surrounding events to
be fulfilled in the future.

Page 14 - Catholic Life, February 2017

For the Young and Young at Heart
Colour in rafting adventure

Time for a laugh
Q: What is the difference between a
cat and a comma?
A: One has claws at the end of its
paws and the other is a pause at the
end of a clause.
A BUS full of ugly people had a
head on collision with a truck. When
they died, God granted all of them
one wish.
The first person said, “I want to be
gorgeous.” God snapped his fingers
and it happened. The second person
said the same thing and God did the
same thing.
This went on and on throughout the
group. God noticed the last man in
line was laughing hysterically.
By the time God got to the last 10
people, the last man was laughing
and rolling on the ground. When the
man’s turn came, he laughed and said,
“I wish they were all ugly again.”

to panda, “A tree climbing mammal
of Asian origin, characterised by
distinct black and white coloring.
Eats, shoots, and leaves.”
AN old man goes to a church, and is
making a confession:
Man: “Father, I am 75 years old.
I was married for 50 years until my
wife died and now I have an 18-yearold girlfriend.”
Father: “When was the last time
you made a confession?”
Man: “I never have, I am Jewish.”
Father: “Then why are telling me all
this?”
Man: “I’m telling everybody!”

A THIEF stuck a pistol in a man’s
ribs and said, “Give me your money.”
The man, shocked by the sudden
attack, said, “You cannot do this, I’m
the Premier!”
TWO men are walking through a
The thief replied, “In that case, give
game park and they come across a
me MY money!”
lion that has not eaten for days.
The lion starts chasing the two
A HUSBAND and wife are in
men. They run as fast as they can and
church. The priest notices that the
the one guy starts getting tired and
husband has fallen asleep and says to
decides to say a prayer, “Please turn
the wife, “Wake your husband up!”
this lion into a Christian, Lord.”
The wife answers, “You’re the one
He looks to see if the lion is still
who made him fall asleep, you wake
chasing and he sees the lion on
him up!”
its knees. Happy to see his prayer
answered, he turns around and heads
A DENTIST told a mother, “I’m
towards the lion.
sorry madam, but I’ll have to charge
As he comes closer to the lion,
you a $400 for pulling your boy’s
he hears it saying a prayer: “Thank
THESE two children are having fun on a home made raft but they bhave you Lord for the food I am about to tooth.”
The mother exclaimed, “$400! You
forgotten to wear lifejackets. Colour in the picture.
receive.”
said it was only $100!”
“Yes,” replied the dentist, “but he
A PANDA walks into a bar, sits
yelled so loudly that he scared three
down, and orders a sandwich. He
SPIRAL staircases in mediaeval warn others of their approach.
other patients out of the waiting
eats, pulls out a gun, and shoots the
castles run clockwise. As soldiers
room.”
would be right handed, invaders
THE first computer was actually waiter dead.
As the panda stands up to go, the
climbing the stairs would be built in 1823. The stream-driven
TEACHER: “Johnny, if Pete gave
bartender
shouts, “Hey! Where are
a disadvantage because their calculating machine built by Charles
you a cat and Jane gave you two cats,
swordhand would be hemmed in Babbage failed to work because of you going? You just shot my waiter how many cats would you have?”
against the internal wall. Defenders poor workmanship in construction and you didn’t pay for the food!”
Johnny: “Four”
The panda yells back, “Hey man,
would have their sword hands of intricate parts. When rebuilt by
Teacher: “How did you figure that
against the outer wall with much the Science Museum of London in I’m a panda. Look it up!”
out?”
The bartender opens his dictionary
more freedom to strike down 1991 it worked. Imagine the world
Johnny: “I already have a cat!”
invaders. Why not have special left- today if we had computers a century
handed knights? Left handed people earlier.
were considered to be descendants
of the devil and could never become
ST John is the only one of the
knights. The word ‘sinister’ with all 12 Apostles to have died a natural
its nasty overtones, actually means death.
‘left’.
IF heart disease, cancer and
THE sport with the highest ratio diabetes were eliminated the life
of officials to players is professional expectancy for men and women
tennis. A singles match could have would be over 100 years.
10 linesmen, a foot fault umpire, net
umpire and the match referee and
The combination –ough can be
six ballboys/girls. And in five set pronounced nine different ways.
men’s matches in hot weather the The following sentence contains
ballboys often change after three them all. A rough-coated, doughsets, meaning there are another six faced, thoughtful ploughman strode
on standby.
through the streets of Scarborough;
after falling into a slough (deep mud),
X-RAYS have revealed there are he coughed and hiccoughed (usually
three versions of the Mona Lisa spelt ‘hiccupped’ nowadays).”
under the visible one.
THE 100 Years War between
THE first bicycle was introduced England and France lasted 116
to British roads in 1888 but the rider years.
had to ring a bell continuously to

HOLY SPIRIT You who
makes me see everything and
shows me the way to reach
my ideals, you who gives me a
divine gift to forgive and forget
the wrong that is done to me;
in this short dialogue I want to
thank you for everything and
affirm once more that I never
want to be separated from you,
no matter how great the material
desire may be. I want to be with
you and my loved ones in Your
perpetual Glory. (Mention your
request). Thank you Holy Spirit
for your love towards me and
my loved one. Amen
This prayer should be said
for 3 consecutive days. After
the 3rd day the request will be
granted, no matter how difficult
it may be. While making the
request one must either promise to publish on granting the
favour or promise to circulate
copies of it to as many people
as possible. This is to spread the
wonder of the Holy Spirit.

VOCATIONS
Priests &
Deacons
Are you considering a
vocation as a priest or
deacon for the
Diocese of Sale?
If so please contact

Fr Michael
Willemsen
5152 3106
vocations@sale.catholic.org.au

wanted known

READERS please note that
published prayers reflect the
beliefs of those who place the
advertisements. We ask readers
to judge for themselves, especially in regards to suggested
fulfilment of requests made in
these prayers.

Give some
depth to your
advertising
dollar!
We are the only newspaper
other than metropolitan
dailies to deliver from the
outer eastern suburbs, through
Gippsland to the
NSW border.

Phone 5622

6688
wanted known

Your will be done
Trinity Families asks you to consider assisting our work in
funding charitable projects across the diocese.
Remembering Trinity Families in your will by making
a bequest is an effective way of ensuring that you do
something to help those struggling families in our midst.
If you need more information on bequests contact:
PO Box 1410, Warragul 3820
Ph: 56 22 6688
ABN 51 486 581 500

THE Moe Oblate Community
hosted the 41st annual Fr
Felix Gavin OMI Golf day on
January 10.
A depleted, but enthusiastic,
field of golfers accepted the
challenge of the Trafalgar Golf
Course for the annual Plate.
Following the golf the annual
Oblate dinner was held in
Oblate Hall, St Kieran’s, Moe,
where 17 priests attended from
the Diocese of Sale, the Oblates
and further afield to enjoy each
other’s company, enjoy a meal
and eagerly wait for Fr Harry
Dyer OMI to announce the
2017 winners.
It was with great joy that Fr
Dyer was able to announce
that the Oblates had regained
the Plate after an absence of
two years with Fr Michael
McMahon OMI being the Plate
winner.
Results: Oblate Trophy:
Fr Michael McMahon OMI,
Mazenod, WA, 1; Fr Peter
Slater, Warragul, 2; Fr William
Ousley OMI, Sorrento, 3.
Stableford event: Fr John
Treacy, Melbourne, 1; Fr
Herman Hengel, Warragul,
2; Fr John McGinty OMI,
Springvale North, 3.
Nearest the Pin – 2nd Hole:
Fr Michael McMahon OMI. 5th
Hole: Fr William Ousley OMI.
Longest Drive - 18th Hole: Fr
Michael McMahon OMI.
PICTURED above: MoeNewborough parish priest Fr
Harry Dyer OMI, (second from
left) presents Plate winner
Michael McMahon OMI with
the trophy, watched by Sale
Vicar General Fr Peter Slater
(left) and Fr William Ousley
OMI.

Talk to

Catholic Life
about our special deal of
placing credit card sized
advertisements in three
consecutive issues for a
pre-paid total of $150.
A cost-effective way of
promoting your business

Phone 5622 6688

Page 16 - Catholic Life, February 2017

Exciting milestone for Foundation students
TRARALGON - St Michael’s
Primary School came to life
again for the beginning of the
2017 school year.
The school was abuzz with
the sounds of excitement,
conversation, laughter and
anticipation.
The day was an exciting
milestone for all the school’s
new Foundation (prep) children
who arrived at school with their
new uniforms, shiny shoes and
full school bags.
This
year
the
school
community also welcomed
Foundation teacher, Madeleine

Telling and support staff,
Dimple Prajapati, Amanda
Reid, Catherine Taylor, Ruth
Buckley and Kelly Clegg.
The first day of school is an
important stepping stone in
the lives of beginners and their
parents. It is a busy and exciting
time for not only the Foundation
students but also their teachers,
Mrs Scholtes, Miss Wilson and
Miss Telling.
This is the beginning of
a partnership between St
Michael’s and the new students
and their families as they begin
their journey of Learning for

Life.
When asked about their first
day at school, students, Brodie
said, I liked it because it’s bigger
than my old school.” Amelie
answered, “I liked drawing my
dog, Monty.” Sienna replied,
“I liked the teachers telling me
things to learn.”
School
principal
Cathy
Blackford said, “The students
all had a great start to the
school year; it was wonderful to
see them so excited and ready
to learn.”

XAVIER, Jye and Pheobe writing their names.

Homeless should
not be vilified

FOUNDATION boys enjoying some Lego play.

Catholic Life Sale

Help Religious Sisters - the unsung heroines in the Church!

CATHOLIC Social Service
Victoria believes we need to
focus on the availability of safe,
affordable and secure housing,
rather than vilify people who
don’t have adequate access to
housing.
Executive director Denis
Fitzgerald said many of
these people needed a safe,
affordable home in a friendly
community, and some needed
decent regular work.
Others
need
specialist
attention and should not be
talked about as rubbish that
needs to be ‘cleaned out’.
He said comment and media
coverage of rough sleepers in
Melbourne had tended to focus
on the short term.
The Melbourne Lord Mayor
Robert Doyle had banned
sleeping rough in City of
Melbourne
and
Victoria
Police’s Chief Commissioner
Graham Ashton was accusing
Melbourne CBD rough sleepers
of pretending to be homeless.
Mr Fitzgerald said that
in response, leaders of 36
Victorian
homelessness,
housing and social services
organisations had released an
open letter appealing for a shift
in the conversation away from
vilifying rough sleepers to a
focus on the lack of affordable
housing that underpins the
crisis.
These included member
organisations
of
Catholic
Social Services Victoria such as
Good Shepherd Australia New
Zealand; Jesuit Social Services;
McAuley Community Services
for Women; Sacred Heart
Mission; and VincentCare.
According to Homelessness
Australia, Victorians become
homeless because of: financial
difficulties (housing stress,
unemployment - 22 percent),
accommodation
issues
(housing crisis, inadequate or
inappropriate dwellings - 29
percent), relationship issues
(time out from family, family
breakdown, violence and assault
- 33 percent), health reasons
(mental health issues, substance
abuse issues - 3 percent) and
other issues like transition
from care/custody, lack of
support and discrimination - 14
percent).
He said local, State and
Commonwealth governments
needed a strategy to combat this
crisis.
The Victorian Government

had committed more than
$600 million to social housing
and homelessness support
largely in response to the
Royal
Commission
into
Family Violence but we were
still awaiting the Victorian
affordable housing strategy.
Mr Fitzgerald said the Federal
Government was a long way
from having a plan to tackle
this problem. Meanwhile,
those on lowest incomes were
being pursued by automated
Centrelink
debt
notices,
reducing their already meagre
incomes. This would inevitably
increase homelessness.
“It’s not just government
and community organisations
that need to work together.
Public opinion appears to
have hardened in recent times.
Recent statements by leaders
and the media are only making
matters worse.
“Instead, Victorians need to
come together and recognise
that homelessness can happen
to almost anyone, and work
towards building community
and more places to live for our
fellow Australians.”

Prison
chaplain’s
OAM award
A GOOD Samaritan Sister who
has spent the last 22 years in
prison chaplaincy in Victoria
was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in the Australia
Day Honors.
Sr Mary O’Shannassy is well
known in this diocese for her
work at Fulham Correctional
Centre near Sale.
She oversees a network of
volunteers who visit prisoners
and their families.
Sr Mary is director of Catholic Prison Ministry Victoria
which works in the 12 men’s
prisons and two women’s prisons and she also has a wider
role in being a member of an
advisory body for Corrections
Victoria.
The OAM awarded to her was
for service to the community
through church and social welfare bodies.
She has previously being presented with an International
Women’s Day Award for services to prison ministry.